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An extremely rare and exquisitely enamelled 'pheasants' glass bottle vase, blue enamel mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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An extremely rare and exquisitely enamelled 'pheasants' glass bottle vase, blue enamel mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795) 

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Lot 3621. An extremely rare and exquisitely enamelled 'pheasants' glass bottle vase, blue enamel mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimate 10,000,000 — 15,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the ovoid body surmounted by a tall and gently waisted neck and everted rim, the body exquisitely enamelled with a continuous scene depicting a pair of pheasants amidst lush and verdant vegetation, the male pheasant perched on a bamboo shoot whilst looking at the other pheasant on pierced jagged rockwork, the male portrayed with fiery iron-red plumage terminating in a long tail, the wing feathers finely rendered and accentuated with blue enamel, the breast picked out with yellow enamel, all below a pale blue crest atop its head, the other bird with a puce-enamelled breast, framed by finely incised green feathers, the scene further picked out with varying flowering blooms, including large pink peonies and small pink, purple and blue asters with yellow stamens, further accentuated with long bamboo shoots extending upward across the shoulder and neck of the vessel, all below a stylised band with foliate, ruyi and circular motifs encircling the mouthrim, the countersunk base inscribed in a characteristic greyish-blue enamel with a four-character reign mark; 9.1 cm, 3 1/2  in.

ProvenanceSotheby's Hong Kong, 11th April 2008, lot 2846.

NotesThe elegant form, painterly enamelled decoration and exquisite quality, together with the Qianlong Emperor's seal mark on the base, make this vase a fine example of wares produced in the Imperial Palace workshop during the Qianlong period. It is a masterpiece made with the combined effort of artist working in two important workshops, the Glass Workshop, also known as the Glass House, where the vessel was made and the Enamel Workshop where the decoration was painted. As every object in the Palace Workshops was made on special command, no two vessels were precisely repeated in their decoration or followed a pre-set pattern. The present vase is therefore unique with no similar example being recorded.

The Imperial Glass Workshop was established in the 35th year of Kangxi's reign (equivalent to 1696) under the management of the Zaobanchu [Imperial Palace Workshop] located at Yangxindian [Hall of Mental Harmony]. The Glass Workshop enjoyed strong imperial patronage which greatly increased the status of this material whose original principal function was imitation of jade and other precious stones. Although glass was made on the emperor's orders, the Workshop itself was guided and managed by Jesuit missionaries who played a key role in introducing new glass technologies and developing Chinese glass at the Court. From archival records it is known that throughout the 18th century the Glass Workshop was staffed by Westerners and Chinese artisans from Guangdong and Shandong. Painted enamel glass wares began to be made in cooperation with the Enamel Workshop during the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, but it was not until the Qianlong period that glass was made in a grand scale and glass making reached its peak. Qianlong glass pieces are have a more lustrous, clear and blemish-free body compared to those of the Kangxi and Yongzheng eras. The Qianlong Emperor's glass collection was vast and as far as the Qing glass collection is concerned, the majority is from the Qianlong period. Glass was used for furnishing, decoration, daily utensil, sacrificial vessel, and scholar's object. During the Qianlong Emperor's reign two western missionaries were in charge of production, a Pierre d'Incarville (Chinese name Tang Zhizhong) and a Gabriel-Leonard de Brossard (Chinese name Ji Wen). Giuseppe Castiglione, famous Jesuit painter at the Court, is known to have provided drawings and designs for glass decoration that was then enamelled in the Enamel Workshop. In her work on the Glass Workshop, Zhang Rong notes as follows:

"Painted enamel glass fully developed in the Qianlong reign. Most of the works were snuff bottles. It was mainly made in the Imperial Enamel Workshop. Now about 20 painted enamel glass masterpieces are in the collection of the Palace Museum. As a combination of glass, enamel and painting, this category of glass is difficult in technique and superb in artistry."

Amongst the small number of extant Qianlong enamelled glass pieces it is worth comparing a pair of vases painted with pheasants and flowering peony blooms, from the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, illustrated in Emily Byrne Curtis, ed., Pure Brightness Shines Everywhere. The Glass of China, Burlington, 2004, pl. 9.10, with a four-character Qianlong reign mark; another vase painted with flowers and birds included in Luster of Autumn Water. Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshops, Beijing, 2005, pl. 84; and a third example ibid., pl. 85, painted with a floral motif that includes lilies.

Two Enameled Glass Vases, blue enamel four-character marks of Qianlong (1736-1795), Corning Museum of Glass, 53

Two Guyuexuan Enameled Glass Vases, blue enamel four-character marks of Qianlong (1736-1795), Corning Museum of Glass, 53.6.1 © 2002 - Corning Museum of Glass. 

Qianlong period enamelled glass are also known with a guyuexuan mark; for example see a bottle painted with a single long-tailed phoenix perched on a rockwork amidst leafy sprigs bearing flowering peony blooms, formerly sold in these rooms, 29th November 1978, lot 420, and now in the collection of Robert H. Clague, included in the exhibition Chinese Glass of the Qing Dynasty, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, 1987, cat. no. 50.

An extremely rare and exquisitely painted Beijing enamel glass vase, mark and period of Qianlong

An extremely rare and exquisitely painted Beijing enamel glass vase, mark and period of Qianlong. sold 14,887,500 HKD at Sotheby's, 11 april 2008, lot 2846. Photo Sotheby's.

The subject matter of flower and bird has featured on Chinese silk and paper painting as early as the Song dynasty. A pheasant is depicted together with bamboo and peach in Wang Yuan's (active 1280-1350) painting Peach, bamboo and Golden Pheasant from the Shanxi Provincial Museum collection published in Orientations, December 1994, p. 40, fig. 29. Castiglione was responsible for the especially magnificent rendering of the bird and flower subject in the painting Glorious Spring, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Cecile and Michel Beurdeley, Castiglione, Peintre Jesuite a la Cour de Chine, Friborg, 1971, pl. 130. The painterly depiction of the pheasant perched on the bamboo and the treatment of the flowers with the veining and outlining of the leaves on this vase is related to that found on porcelain vases where the artist in a comparable fashion tries to use his full range of colour palette. See a vase from the Charles Russell Collection illustrated in R.L. Hobson, Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, col. pl. 28, and sold in our London rooms, 2nd June 1971, lot 263. Another vase with the pheasant design can be found in the Musée Guimet, Paris, included in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. LXXVIII; and a third in the Tianjin Museum published inTianjin Shi Yishu Bowuguan cang ji [Collection of the Tianjin City Art Museum], Hong Kong, 1993, pls. 169-170.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Flemish landscape paintings on view at Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau

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Jan Brueghel d. J. and imitators, Landscape with the creation of the animals, oil on oak, 53.7 x 81 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Copyright SKD

DRESDEN.- Dizzying vistas of river valleys and mountain peaks, the impenetrable thicket of a forest bustling with countless animals, the idyllic quiet of a lake in the evening light. What we now call landscapes weren’t always seen that way – and they certainly weren’t depicted that way either. In the special exhibition ‘Paradise on Earth: Flemish Landscape Painting from Bruegel to Rubens’, which opened on 1 October in the Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, nature takes over the surfaces of the paintings on display. Initially appearing as backgrounds and vistas, nature gradually spread over the panels and canvases, eventually taking centre stage in such a convincing manner that, for the first time, nature became a natural part of the artistic canon. 

Flanders, with its important trading ports in Antwerp and Brussels, is both the centre and the turning point of this dynamic, which began in the sixteenth century. It is the era of great discoveries, of the increasing cartographic measurement of the world, and of the establishment of trade routes that would bring wealth and prosperity to the Flemish regions. Nature came to be viewed in this period from the perspective both of the scientific, detached explorer, and of the astonished believers who had been unsettled by denominational conflicts. The desire for paradise – a place of unity between humans and creation – is expressed in this emerging genre of art, as are spiritual abysses that individuals might encounter in the course of their lives.  

In this sense, the artists featured in this presentation did not paint landscape portraits but rather ideal representations they composed in their workshops. They drew on the repertoire of forms found in nature for the paradises they devised in their heads. Incredibly multifaceted images of natural space unfold before the viewer – spaces that are, for the most part, artistic inventions. 

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Maerten van Valckenborch the Elder, The Tower of Babel, 1595, oil on oak, Old Masters Picture Gallery, Copyright: SKD  

FROM BRUEGEL TO RUBENS: AN INVENTORY OF THE COLLECTION IN DRESDEN 
With 160 artworks, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) in Dresden possesses one of the world’s most important collections of Flemish landscape paintings. Only a small part of this collection has previously been on display in the permanent exhibition. With this special exhibition, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden reveals the findings of a three-year research project in which scholars investigated the entire collection of Flemish paintings. 

In an exhibition space of more than 500 square metres, visitors are led through an earthly paradise. The show is divided into various thematic areas that illustrate the emergence of the new genre through an exceptionally high-calibre selection of artworks. One section is comprised of early landscape backgrounds – both in miniature paintings from the late Middle Ages, and in altarpieces and devotional paintings. The development of this artistic lineage led landscape genres to emerge that continuously distinguished themselves from one another. They include the postcard-sized cabinet paintings of country and forest landscapes and lake scenes by Hans Bol (1534–1593), and the large-scale animal landscapes of Roelant Savery (1576–1639). The video installation ‘Travel, 1996–2013’ by the contemporary artist David Claerbout (born 1969 in Kortrijk, Belgium), bridges the gap between the show’s older works and the twenty-first century, taking visitors on a pictorial voyage. The exhibition also includes documentary videos that show the technical and restoration work done on two important paintings in the show. 

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Roelant Savery, Ruined tower on Vogelweiher, 1618, oil on oak panel, 30 x 42 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Copyright : SKD.

RESTORATION AND TECHNICAL ANALYSIS 
In an interdisciplinary collaboration, art historians, conservators, and scientists carried out extensive investigations for this exhibition. These included material analyses and various diagnostic procedures using radiation, like infrared reflectography and digital x-radiography. Such procedures yielded insights that, in many cases, amount to a rediscovery of the works studied. Images that had been painted over were made visible, and new attributions of the artists behind the works could be made. 

The exhibition brings together 141 works, including prized items on loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In addition to paintings, there are drawings and prints from the Kupferstich-Kabinett (Cabinet of Prints, Drawings and Photographs), and a precious globe from the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments). 

In cooperation with the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, part of this exhibition will be displayed in adapted form in the Museum Rockoxhuis in Antwerp from March to June, 2017. This staging of the exhibition will bring the Dresden artworks back to their place of origin.

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Jan Brueghel the Elder, radius / successor, Studies of boats and barges, 1600, pen and brown, blue and brown wash, 21.2 x 27.7 cm, Print Room, Copyright SKD

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Jan Brueghel the Elder, Level with windmills, 1611, oil on canvas, 26.6 x 37.7 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Copyright: SKD

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Johannes and Lucas van Doetecum by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, S. Jerome in Deserto, 1555-1556, Print Room, copyright: SKD

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Lucas van Valckenborch, Winter landscape in Antwerp with snowfall, 1575, oil on oak panel, 61 x 82.5 cm, Copyright Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

A very fine doucai 'anbaxian' ogee bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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A very fine doucai 'anbaxian' ogee bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

A very fine doucai 'anbaxian' ogee bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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Lot 3626. A very fine doucai'anbaxian' ogee bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimate 1,000,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the bowl of ogee form rising from a tapered foot, the interior with a flat central well decorated with an interlinked scroll border enclosing a swirled roundel issuing alternating yellow and blue flames, surrounded by four peaches born on the leafy scroll border, the cavetto finely decorated with the anbaxian emblems, each accentuated with billowing ribbons, the exterior brightly decorated with eight stylised floral blooms borne on undulating leafy scrolls above a border of ruyi-heads alternating with upright lappets, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark; 20.1 cm, 7 7/8  in.

ProvenanceS. Marchant & Son, London.

NotesThis bowl is an exquisite example of porcelain wares decorated in the doucai technique, notable for the varying shades of green and combination of blue enamel with underglaze blue to create a more visually rich piece. Before the Kangxi Emperor, blue on ceramics only appeared in underglaze cobalt; however during the Kangxi Emperor's reign blue enamel was imported from Europe before being produced locally from the sixth year of Yongzheng. While a common feature of famille-verte and falangcai porcelain, it is not commonly seen on doucai wares, which typically only incorporated underglaze blue.  

A bowl of this type in the Nanjing Museum, was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 106; another in the Tokyo National Museum, is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Tokyo, 1990, pl. 592, together with two bowls of this type with Jiaqing and Daoguang marks and of the respective periods; a pair from the Umezawa Kinenkan, Tokyo, was included in the exhibition Shinsho tōji, MOA Art Museum, Atami, 1984, cat. no. 44; and a further pair from the Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo, was sold in these rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 2. For a bowl pencilled with this design in underglaze blue only, see two sold in these rooms, one, 29th May 1978, lot 632, and the other, 21st May 1982, lot 714.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

 

A rare doucai 'bajixiang' jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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A rare doucai 'bajixiang' jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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Lot 3676. A rare doucai'bajixiang' jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)Estimate 1,200,000 — 1,800,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

very finely potted with a slightly compressed globular body resting on a short splayed foot and surmounted by a short neck, the body meticulously detailed and enamelled in the doucai palette, highlighted with famille-rose with a frieze of the bajixiang emblems above an undulating scroll of stylised lotus blooms, the design densely wreathed by smaller flowering blooms borne on leafy scrolls, all set between bands of pendent ruyi-blooms and upright slender petal lappets, the footrim skirted with a pendent trefoil lappet border picked out with dotted motifs, the base inscribed with an underglaze-blue six-character seal mark; width 11.3 cm, 4 3/8  in.

Notes: This extremely rare jarlet, brilliantly enamelled with a rare combination of doucai and famille-rose enamels, appears to have been inspired by Chenghua doucai covered jars, decorated with the bajixiang surmounting lotus blooms and framed within C-scrolls; for example see one published in Yuan’s and Ming’s Imperial Porcelain Unearthed from Jingdezhen/Jingdezhen chutu Yuan Ming guanyao taoci, Beijing, 1999, pl. 327. Another rare doucai jarlet of this form with similar Qianlong seal mark, complete with its cover and enamelled with phoenix, is illustrated in Liu Liang-yu, Ch'ing Official and Popular Wares. A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 5, Taipei, 1991, p. 182.

The Qianlong Emperor’s preference for auspicious and novel designs is evident in the imperial wares of this reign, which frequently combined elements of various traditional motifs and formal elements to form innovative designs. The present jarlet is an example of such originality, which presents the traditional bajixiangruyi bands and flower scrolls in an unconventional arrangement and unusual form..

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

A doucai 'fruit' medallion bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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A doucai 'fruit' medallion bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong '1736-1795)

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Lot 3680. A doucai'fruit' medallion bowl, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795).  Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

with steep flaring sides resting on a recessed base, the exterior decorated in the doucai palette with five densely decorated roundels in the form of leafy branches laden with fruits and florets, separated with detached pomegranate sprays, all between a double-line border and a multi-coloured lappet band encircling the rim and foot respectively, the base inscribed with an underglaze-blue six-character seal mark; 15.4 cm, 6 in.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

A small famille-rose ruby-ground 'lotus' sgraffiato wine cup, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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A small famille-rose ruby-ground 'lotus' sgraffiato wine cup, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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Lot 3670. A small famille-rose ruby-ground 'lotus' sgraffiato wine cup, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)Estimate 300,000 — 400,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

delicately potted with deep rounded sides rising steeply from a short foot to a gently flared rim, the exterior delicately painted with three flowering formal lotus blooms encircled by curling foliage and interspersed with small florets and lingzhi blooms, all above a band of yellow upright petal lappets and reserved on a ruby-red ground finely incised with sgraffiato feathered scrolls, the interior richly dressed in gold, the base with an underglaze-blue four-character seal mark; 6.3 cm, 2 1/2  in.

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 30th December 1969.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th October 2009, lot 1605 (part lot).

NotesImpressive for the expertly decorated design of lotus scrolls on a sgraffiato ground, the present cup highlights the technical proficiency of porcelain manufacturers at Jingdezhen under the Qianlong reign. See a smaller cup of similar form and decoration, but with the mark Baose zhai zhi ('Studio for the Precious and Miserly') on the base, sold in these rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 236.

For Qianlong cups of slightly larger proportions and straight sides rising from a countersunk base, painted with a related blossoming lotus scroll on an incised ruby-ground, see one sold at Christie's New York, 2nd December 1993, lot 344, and again in these rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 801; and another, but decorated with a mixed-flower scroll, in the Nanjing Museum, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Nanjing Museum, 1995, cat. no. 94. Compare also the cover of an engraved ruby-ground cup, similarly decorated with a floral design sold in our London rooms, 6th December 1994, lot 211.

The complicated and laborious sgraffiato technique here employed was first included in the repertoire of the Jingdezhen potters during the Qianlong period and was reserved for decorating very special pieces. Commonly known as jinshang tianhua, ('adding decorative pattern onto brocades'), the technique consisted of reserving the design on a monochrome enamel ground, which itself is structured by needle-point etching of endless scrolling fronds. Sgraffiato was more often restricted to smaller subsidiary borders, rather than being used for the main field of decoration, due to the difficulty of achieving an evenness in the enamel over a large surface.

For a Yongzheng reign marked cup of this form and size and its saucer, enamelled with shaped yellow-ground panels of peony blossoms on a plain ruby-ground and the exterior of the saucer decorated with iron-red bats on a plain white ground, see one illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 157, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 1999, lot 537.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

A rare copper-red 'bats and lotus' globular jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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A rare copper-red 'bats and lotus' globular jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795)

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Lot 3691. A rare copper-red 'bats and lotus' globular jarlet, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

finely potted with a globular body resting on a slightly splayed foot and surmounted by a short upright neck, the body delicately painted in pinkish-red tones of copper red with a wide band of large lotus blooms borne on undulating scrolls and bats soaring with outstretched wings, the frieze detailed with wan symbols, some beribboned and suspended from the bats' mouths, all between borders of interlinked ruyi heads, the neck picked out with small upright lappets and the foot with a key-fret band, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark; w. 11 cm, 4 1/4  in.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30th April 1996, lot 458..

NotesThis charming jarlet is unusual for both its shape and decoration, the latter successfully combining the highly auspicious motif of bats and wan symbols with elements borrowed from Western art, evident in the geometric rendering of the ruyiband under the neck. This echoes the carved wall panelling that incorporated the hallmark ‘C’ and ‘S’ shapes of the Rococo style, the architectural style that appeared in the European style palace buildings of the Yuanming Yuan, built to satisfy the Emperor’s lavish taste for the exotic as well as his desire to be seen as a universal ruler.

While no other vase of this shape and decoration appears to have been published, vases painted in a similar style with outlines filled with a multitude of small dots to depict the bats’ bodies, include a double gourd-shaped vase decorated with dragons amongst lingzhi scrolls, sold in these rooms, 8th April 2010, lot 1867; a meiping painted with the sanduo ('Three Abundances') theme, sold in these rooms, 29th April 1997, lot 653, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th May 2007, lot 1465; and another sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd March 2912, lot 2088.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Cindy Sherman and David Salle open Skarstedt's new London gallery

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled # 225 (detail), 1990, chromogenic colour print 48 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (122 x 84 cm.), © Cindy Sherman
David Salle, Young Krainer (detail), 1989, acrylic and oil on canvas 84 x 104 in. (213.4 x 262.2 cm.), Art© David Salle / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

LONDON.- Skarstedt announced the opening of a new London gallery at 8 Bennet Street, St James’s. A joint exhibition of Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits (1988 – 1990) and David Salle’s Tapestry Paintings (1989 – 1991) inaugurated the new space. Designed by Thomas Croft Architects, the new gallery benefits from 5,000 square feet in this historic quarter, enabling Skarstedt to continue its programme of historical exhibitions. 

Dominant figures in contemporary art, both Cindy Sherman and David Salle were key figures in the influential ‘Pictures Generation’ art movement of the mid 1970s and 80s in New York. Emerging onto the art scene during this media-dominated era, both Sherman and Salle, like many of their contemporaries, drew upon existing imagery as inspiration for their own richly layered work.  

First exhibited in London at Waddington Galleries in 1989, with the second series being shown at Fred Hoffman Gallery, Los Angeles in 1990 and Gagosian Gallery, New York in 1991, David Salle’s Tapestry Paintings are a pastiche on sixteenth and seventeenth-century Italian and Dutch genre styles. The background imagery is drawn from narrative scenes from historical tapestries, some of which are reproductions of famous works, others are by an anonymous Russian tapestry-maker which Salle found reproduced in a magazine and copied onto canvas. Demonstrating a richness of imagery and compositional complexity, this body of work is one of Salle’s most accomplished. A select number of Tapestry Paintings were included in the touring retrospective of Salle’s work, which originated at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1999, though paintings from this pivotal series have not been widely exhibited since.  

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David Salle (b.1952), Young Krainer, 1989, acrylic and oil on canvas with two inserted panels, 84 x 104 1/2 in. (213.4 x 265.4 cm.), © David Salle, Courtesy of Skarstedt

Presented on a grand scale, in a nod to the monumental proportions of historical tapestries, the Tapestry Paintings eschew the narrative tendencies of their source material, demonstrating instead a simultaneity of styles. Delicately tinted, the pale backgrounds are deliberately rococo, with smaller grisaille paintings and coloured motifs inset into the canvas. The multi-layered images are instilled with rhythm and velocity, which the eye distills as it zooms in and out of focus over the surface. In this unique body of work, Salle neutralizes narrative conventions, instead creating a dialogue between art historical references and genres through his incorporation of decorative imagery of furniture, painted images of African masks and Giacometti sculptures, among others. Alive with colliding imagery, the visual cacophony of the Tapestry Paintings emphasises the primacy of seeing. 

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David Salle (b.1952), Lampwick's Dilemma, 1989. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 94 x 136 inches, © David Salle, Courtesy of Skarstedt

Also overt in their stylistic references, Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits take their inspiration from noble historical paintings from the renaissance, baroque, rococo and neo-classical periods. Inspired directly by painted portraits by Raphael, Caravaggio, Ingres and Rubens among others, Sherman uses a range of props and costumes in her classically composed images to play up to the clichés of subjective portraiture. Exploring the traditional genre of painting with a multi-layered approach both physically and conceptually, the heavy draped fabrics that form the backdrops of the History Portraits and the rich, dense coloration of the photographic surface give physical form to Sherman's appropriation of this historical genre.Throughout her extensive body of work, Sherman has assumed the role of both model and creator of her images. Adopting different styles and personas, she plays upon the stereotypes of women as portrayed in art and propagated in the media. Through her use of props and obvious prosthetic body parts, Sherman draws attention to the performative aspects of her work, thereby calling into question the validity of these male-attributed gender stereotypes.  

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David Salle (b.1952). Backdrop, 1990. oil and acrylic on canvas. 96 x 122 in. (243.8 x 309.9 cm.)© David Salle, Courtesy of Skarstedt

Evoking the art of painting, Sherman’s re-interpretations are full of theatricality and artifice, calling into question the nature of representation throughout art history and the relationship between painter and model. Intrinsic to each of Sherman’s portraits are their ornate gilded frames, which she designed to emphasise the painterly references in each of the works. The glossy surface and saturated colours of these photographs bring to the fore the artificiality of Sherman’s composition, heightening the theatricality of the performance encased within the frame.  

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled #203, 1989, chromogenic colour print in artist’s frame, 61 x 45 ¾ in. (154.9 x 116.2 cm.), © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy of Skarstedt

The theme of performance is also central to Salle’s oeuvre. With a long-standing involvement in theatre, Salle has collaborated for over 25 years with choreographer Karole Armitage, creating sets and costumes for her ballets and operas. Pre-dating his seminal Ghost Paintings of 1992, which merge painting, photography and performance, the Tapestry Paintings demonstrate the cross-cultural performative influences on Salle’s work through the incorporation of insert paintings of dancers and photo-transfer images of his own staged photographs. With their juxtaposition of imagery and cultural references, these large-scale paintings are choreographed performances in their own right, their surface a stage for Salle’s ongoing exploration of the performative nature of painting.  

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Cindy Sherman (b.1954). Untitled #206, 1989. chromogenic colour print. 75 3/8 x 53 1/4 in. (191.5 x 135.3 cm.)© Cindy Sherman, Courtesy of Skarstedt

Positioning these bodies of work in dialogue, the exhibition explores the shared visual strategies and the performative aspects intrinsic to the artists’ work. Created during the same period, the History Portraits and Tapestry Paintings invite us to reflect on the coincidence of the artists’ shared translation of historical sources at this particular moment of contemporary art history and to contemplate the role played by their chosen mediums of painting and photography. The borrowing by Sherman and Salle of visual modes and styles to create a layered pastiche that is original and inventive underlines the success of their artistry, and the continued importance of these historical bodies of work as context for contemporary thought and practice.

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Cindy Sherman (b. 1954), Untitled #216, 1989, chromogenic color print, 95 x 64 in. (241.3 x 162.6 cm.) This work is from an edition of six, © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy of Skarstedt

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled # 225, 1990, chromogenic colour print 48 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (122 x 84 cm.), © Cindy Sherman, , Courtesy of Skarstedt

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Installation view. © Cindy Sherman and Art © David Salle/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Courtesy of the artists and Skarstedt.


A pair of large painted grey pottery jars and covers, hu, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8)

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A pair of large painted grey pottery jars and covers, hu, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8)

Lot 1440. A pair of large painted grey pottery jars and covers, hu, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8). Price Realised  USD 20,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

Each raised on a tall, splayed pedestal foot and molded around the bulbous body with two pairs of bow string bands, the uppermost register divided by a pair of taotie masks, beneath archaistic scrolls framed within upright blades painted in red and lavender on the neck, the design repeated on the domed covers, all reserved on the greyish-black body; 22 5/8 in. (57.4 cm.) high (2)

ProvenanceAcquired in New York in 1992. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A painted grey pottery figure of a sow, Six Dynasties period (220-589)

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A painted grey pottery figureof a sow, Six Dynasties period (220-589)

Lot 1441. A painted grey pottery figure of a sow, Six Dynasties period (220-589). Price Realised  USD 22,500. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

Realistically modeled with plump body, standing foursquare with head facing forward beneath its drooping ears, with traces of red and white pigment; 18 in. (45.8 cm.) long 

Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, 6 December 1989, lot 79

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. 466Z76 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A painted grey pottery figure of a painted grey pottery figure, Bactrian camel, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)

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A painted grey pottery figure of a painted grey pottery figure, Bactrian camel, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)

Lot 1442. A painted grey pottery figure of a painted grey pottery figure, Bactrian camel, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). Price Realised  USD 7,500. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

Well modeled standing foursquare on a rectangular base, the small head facing forward, the front of the neck scored to indicate hair markings, with pack boards applied to either side; 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm.) high 

Provenance: Christie's, New York, 4 June 1992, lot 211

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 566z40 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A rare carved wood figure of a horse, Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220)

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A painted grey pottery figure of a painted grey pottery figure, Bactrian camel, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)

Lot 1444. A rare carved wood figure of a horse, Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). Price Realised  USD 6,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

Portrayed standing with head facing forward, the body carved from a single section with separately attached legs, tail and neck, the narrow head carved with sensitive eyes, pricked ears and mouth open in a whinny; 9½ in. (24.1 cm.) long 

Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, 6 December 1989, lot 66

Note: A similar, although much larger (86.4 cm.), Han dynasty wood figure of a prancing horse, was sold in these rooms, 24-25 March 2011, lot 1297

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A bronze figural mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220)

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A bronze figural mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220)

Lot 1123. A bronze figural mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Price Realised  USD 50,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

The large knob surrounded by a narrow decorative band and an outer field of four seated immortals surrounded by numerous Daoist figures, dignitaries, entertainers, four nipples encircled by beaded borders, and four brief inscriptions, all crisply cast within a hatchured band below dogtooth and cloud bands on the canted rim, the outer edge also canted, with mottled dark silvery grey and milky olive patina; 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm.) diam. 

Provenance: Acquired in Palm Springs, California, November 1996

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A silvery bronze 'TLV' circular mirror, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8)

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A silvery bronze 'TLV' circular mirror, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8)

Lot 1124. A silvery bronze 'TLV' circular mirror, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8). Price Realised  USD 60,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

Crisply cast, the central knob within a square border of twelve small nipples separating characters representing the zodiac, with eight further nipples in the outer field arranged within the T, L and V motifs and various animals and birds, as well as a Daoist immortal, within a narrow hatchured border, all below bands of dogtooth and cloud scroll on the rim, with silvery patina and some malachite encrustation; 6½ in. (16.5 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance: Acquired in Tokyo in the 1970s

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A silvery bronze mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220)

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A silvery bronze mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220)

Lot 1130. A silvery bronze mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Price Realised  USD 21,250. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

The knob encircled by a band of nine bosses joined by leafy tendrils, hatchured and plain bands, and an outer field of seven roundels with a central nipple that alternate with a seated Daoist immortal and six divine beasts and birds, all within another hatchured border below dogtooth and zigzag bands on the rim, with added silvery patination on some of the decoration, with silvery grey patina and some blue-green and ferrous encrustation; 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) diam

Provenance: Acquired in Palm Springs, California, November 1996

NoteA mirror of this type in the Donald H. Graham, Jr. Collection is illustrated by Toru Nakano, Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China, 1994, pp. 148-9. The author describes the seven nipples within a continuous arc roundel as "miniaturized mirrors" representing seven children, while the nine nipples "signify nine grandchildren." The combination of the various motifs most likely conveys a wish for longevity and numerous children and grandchildren. As with the present mirror, areas of the decoration are highlighted by added silvery patination. Another related mirror is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors in the National Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, pp. 96-7.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza


An Imperial pale green jade 'Wang Xizhi and geese' carving, Qing dynasty, 17th–18th century

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Lot 79. An Imperial pale green jade 'Wang Xizhi and geese' carving, Qing dynasty, 17th–18th century. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

skilfully modelled as Wang Xizhi rendered reclining in a leisurely pose on jagged rockwork by a streaming river with two geese facing each other, the bearded scholar portrayed clad in loose robes and holding a scroll in its left hand, an attendant depicted in the round standing behind him and holding a further goose in his hands, the stone of a pale green colour with veins and inclusions, wood stand; 13 cm, 5 1/8  in.

NotesThis carving depicts the celebrated calligrapher, Wang Xizhi (AD 303-361), leisurely enjoying his book while geese swim by and his attendant brings him another goose. Wang found inspiration for his calligraphy in natural forms, including the graceful necks of geese, and his fondness for them is reflected in the famous story where he copied the Daoist classicDaodejing [the classic of the Dao and of virtue] for a priest in exchange for a white goose.

This charming piece belongs to a group of symbolic jade carvings made as sculptures, curios or paper weights to adorn scholar’s studios. It is particularly notable for its large size and delicate carving, as seen in the gentle expressions of the scholar and his assistant. It is also rare to find such depictions of historical figures. The dexterity of the carver is further attested in his ability to include the natural inclusions of the stone into the rendering of the rockwork.

Carvings with such prominent rockwork are rare, although two examples also depicting the scholar Wang Xizhi, were sold in our London rooms, 14th May 2014, lot 18, and in these rooms, 19th November 1985, lot 40 respectively. See also a similarly carved group of a scholar riding a horse and his attendant, sold in these rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 1044; a carving of a scholar and his dog, leaning on rockwork, sold in our New York rooms, 19th March 2007; and a further example with a scholar leaning on a pile of books, included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, The Urban Council, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 176.

Sotheby's. Roger Keverne - 50 Years in the Trade, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 10:00 AM

A rare yellow jade archaistic vase, fanghu, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

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Lot 56. A rare yellow jade archaistic vase, fanghu, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of rectangular section, finely modelled with a central section with gently rounded sides rising from a splayed foot to a tall waisted neck and everted rim, the neck flanked by a pair of openwork chilong handles, below a raised band detailed with taotie masks and scrollwork motifs, all above bands of pendent and upright blades of leiwen patterns, the translucent stone of a warm yellow colour with attractive russet and milky-white inclusions concentrating particularly to one side; 13.8 cm, 5 3/8  in.

ProvenanceVirginia Museum of Art, Richmond, Virginia.
Sotheby's New York, 24th March 1998, lot 347

NotesSkilfully modelled with angled shoulders, this vase is notable for its luminous yellow stone, the quality of which has been accentuated by the subtly decorated surface, which further creates an attractive contrast to the finely carved and finished handles. Jade of this brilliant translucent yellow colouration was much favoured by the Qing Court for its association with the imperial colour of yellow.

A vase of similar shape was sold in our New York rooms, 14th September 2011, lot 364; and a larger example, but with ruyi-shaped handles, from the collection of Sir John Woolf, was included in the exhibition Masterpiece of Chinese Jade from the Woolf Collection, Sotheby’s, London, 2013, cat. no. 2.

Sotheby's. Roger Keverne - 50 Years in the Trade, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 10:00 AM

A white jade 'Twin Buddhist lions' group, Qing dynasty, 18th century

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LOt 75. A white jade 'Twin Buddhist lions' group, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the substantial stone skilfully worked in the form of a pair of nuzzling Buddhist lions, each rendered with round bulging eyes below thick brows and mane defined in tight curls, its back with well-pronounced bosses along the spine terminating in a bushy tail, the smaller cub potrayed endearingly resting its front paws on the back of the elder lion, the latter with one paw on a brocade ball with a long ribbon depicted trailing along the underside, the stone of a pale celadon-tinged white colour with faint icy and grey inclusions, wood stand; 12.8 cm, 5 in.

ProvenanceChristie’s London, 6th December 1993, lot 191

NotesFashioned from a particularly large white jade pebble, this charming carving is impressive for its sensitive and detailed modelling that pleasantly contrast the animals’ playful poses. The skill of the carver has been displayed to full effect in the naturalistically captured interlocking paws, and the meticulous carving of the creatures’ fur and notched spine. Jade animal sculptures such as this piece, generally depicted in reclining or seated poses, were kept in scholar’s studios where they probably served as decorative playthings or as paperweights. The large size and translucent stone of this piece would have made it a valued possession.

Jade sculptures of two reclining lions include ones sold in our New York rooms, 10th/11th April 1986, lot 236; another sold at Christie’s New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1008; a slightly smaller example from the Avery Brundage collection, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, was included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing, The Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 54; and a fourth sold at Christie’s New York, 4th June 1987, lot 95. Compare also a jade carving of a lion and its cub, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Yang Boda, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 54.

Sculptures of lions have a long history in Chinese history. Although known from as early as the Han dynasty, figures of lions in lapidary art developed with the spread of Buddhism, when they began to be placed at the entrance of temples and important halls to ensure the protection of those who entered. From the Tang dynasty onwards they were shown in pairs, the male with its paw over a sphere while the female with a cub, and only in the Ming and Qing dynasty depictions of playful lions began to acquire popularity.

Sotheby's. Roger Keverne - 50 Years in the Trade, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 10:00 AM

A superb blue and white 'grape' charger, Ming Dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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A superb blue and white 'grape' charger, Ming Dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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Lot 3638. A superb blue and white 'grape' charger, Ming Dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Estimate 8,000,000 — 10,000,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

very finely potted with rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a wide everted rim, superbly painted in rich inky tones of cobalt-blue accented with characteristic 'heaping and piling', the interior decorated with a medallion enclosing three pendent bunches of grapes suspending from a gnarled vine issuing broad curling leaves and coiling tendrils, surrounded on the cavetto with a leafy composite floral scroll bearing twelve flowering blooms, including chrysanthemum, lotus, peony and morning glory, all within a border of crashing waves on the rim, the exterior similarly rendered with a different composite floral scroll of twelve floral blossoms, including a lingzhi bloom, the unglazed base fired with subtle orange specks, wood stand: 37.4 cm, 14 3/4  in.

Provenance: Christie's London, 14th July 1980, lot 196.
Christie's New York, 30th November 1983, lot 86.
Robert Chang Collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2006, lot 1313.

NotesThe elegant design on this dish represents one of the great classic patterns of the Yongle period that demonstrates the developments achieved by Jingdezhen’s potters and painters in the short time period, since blue and white porcelain began to be made there. Indeed, under the Yongle Emperor not only did the quality of porcelain and stylistic sophistication jump to unprecedented heights, its value to the court also evolved from that of an exquisite practical item of the imperial household to becoming a commodity with economic and diplomatic potential for the Emperor.

The Yongle Emperor was an outward looking monarch, and his reign was marked by numerous official expeditions abroad. Large dishes painted in underglaze blue were made at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, where production was carefully monitored. Porcelains here were produced for the court, its specifications defined and quality monitored by the court, and its distribution organised by the court and assured through official channel. While quality control was maximised in this period, so as to make porcelains impeccable, designs were jealously guarded, so no copies could be made by lesser kilns that might be confused with the original and in this way harm the repute and prestige of the product.

 

Dishes painted with this motif, always featuring three clusters of grapes issuing from a single stem, vary in few but distinct ways: the sides are either rounded or lobed and the rims are straight or barbed. Among surviving examples the present piece is particularly striking for the its fine potting, smooth and tactile glaze and lush fruit pattern in vibrant and deep cobalt that beautifully displays the characteristic ‘heaping and piling’ of the cobalt blue – a much-copied trademark of imperial blue-and-white from the early Ming dynasty.

Dishes of this design made for the court include one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang. Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. II, pl. 135, together with a dish of this design with a barbed rim, pl. 133; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-16; and a third, reputedly given by the Empress Dowager Cixi to Sir Robert Hart, Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs at the Chinese Treaty Ports, on his retirement in 1908, sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1966, lot 79.

After an interruption in the Hongwu reign, the Yongle Emperor re-established relations with the Timurid ruler Shahrukh Mirza (r. 1405-47), which led to frequent mutual exchanges of luxury goods between the two empires, including blue and white porcelains. Dishes of this design formerly in the Ardabil Shrine and now in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, are illustrated in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington D.C., 1956, pls. 37-9, and in Misugi Takatoshi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East. Topkapi and Ardebil, Hong Kong, 1981, vol. III, pls. A 40-42. Dishes of this design are also found in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, pls. 605 and 606; a dish inscribed with the name of the Mughal Shah Jahan ibn Jahangir Shah (AD 1593-1666) and a date equivalent to AD 1643-4, from the Avery Brundage Collection, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Selected Works, San Francisco, 1994, p. 106, and sold in our London rooms, 24th March 1964, lot 96.

 

Further dishes of this pattern include a dish from the Swedish Royal Collections, now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 213; two from the collection of Sir Percival David, the first, now in the British Museum, London, published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 6, pl. 74, and the second, sold in our London rooms, 8th July 1974, lot 190; and another dish in the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 4, 2010, pl. 1638, and sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 21.

The grape motif is comparatively rare on Chinese works of art as the fruit was mainly grown in Central Asia. It appeared in the Tang dynasty when the Silk Road enabled a close contact with this region, and re-appeared in the Yuan dynasty, when China again had many economic and cultural ties with the West, before becoming increasingly popular during the Yongle reign.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

A fine and rare blue and white barbed 'floral scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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A fine and rare blue and white barbed 'floral scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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Lot 3630. A fine and rare blue and white barbed 'floral scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Estimate 6,000,000 — 8,000,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

very finely potted with shallow rounded sides divided into twelve bracket foliations, rising from a short tapered foot to a barbed everted rim, beautifully and richly painted in shades of cobalt accented with the 'heaped and piled' effect, the interior with a central lotus bloom shown en face surrounded by blooms of camellia, lotus, chrysanthemum, mallow and pink, all wreathed by interlocked meandering stems within a barbed line border, further encircled around the sides by detached sprays of peony, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, hibiscus, morning glory and lotus, each repeated twice and paired across the dish, below a border of cresting waves emitting white foams within double-lines at the rim, the exterior painted with similar detached floral sprays within double-line borders, the base and footring left unglazed; 33.8 cm, 13 3/8  in.

ProvenanceGulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, Durham, no. L87 (on loan). 
Christie's London, 9th November 2004, lot 131.

NotesThe period of Yongle (1403-24) was a golden age for the history of China’s blue and white porcelain. Dishes painted with flower scrolls like the present piece rank among the most prestigious ceramic wares from this period. They were made both for the Ming court and for export, were sent to the Middle East mainly via the official trade system, where they were later copied in earthenware. Similar examples are very rare, although they are represented in world-famous museums and private collections.

One of the decorative innovations of early fifteenth century was the use of separate floral sprays or bunches of flowers in the cavetto instead of a continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on fourteenth-century dishes gave way to more varied series of formalised motifs. Yongle blue and white is also characterised by its particularly fine cobalt imported from the Middle East, which fired to a dark, deep blue in some parts and a delicate, pale blue in others. The intensity of the blue tones was highlighted by the white body of the porcelain clay, and the silvery-black and crystal-like appearance of the pigment, which often occurred in the firing, known as the 'heaped and piled' effect, is a much-copied trademark of imperial blue and white from the early Ming dynasty.

A similar dish in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, pl. 601; another in the Percival David Foundation, now on loan to the British Museum, London, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 76; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Porcelains, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 38; other dishes of this design include two in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, one illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Chinese Ceramics from the Axel and Nora Lundgren Bequest, Stockholm, 1978, pl. 27, no. 25, the other, formerly in the Swedish Royal Collection of Gustaf VI Adolf, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, op.cit., vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 216. An example from the Mottahedeh Collection, illustrated in David Howard and John Ayers, China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and Other Decorative Arts for Export, New York, 1978, vol. 1, p. 12, was sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 1976, lot 113, and again, 20th September 2000, lot 105. Another comparable example, from the Collection of Mr. F. Gordon and Mrs. Elizabeth Hunter Morrill, was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 3018.

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Large porcelain dish with composite flower scroll, Ming dynaty, Yongle period (1403-1424). Underglaze blue with scrolling flower heads inside and outside. Unglazed base. Height: 62 millimetres. Diameter: 343 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A600© Trustees of the British Museum

Dish, porcelain, decorated in underglaze blue with flowerscrolls, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Axel och Nora Lundgrens samling, ÖM-1977-75, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm ©2016 Östasiati

Dish, porcelain, decorated in underglaze blue with flowerscrolls, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Axel och Nora Lundgrens samling, ÖM-1977-75, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm ©2016 Östasiatiska Museet

Dish, underglaze blue with flowerscrolls

Dish, underglaze blue with flowerscrolls. Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Gustav VI Adolf samling, ÖM-1974-1072 , Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm ©2016 Östasiatiska Museet

A fine blue and white barbed 'florwer scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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A fine blue and white barbed 'flower scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Sold 5,560,000 HKD at Sotheby's, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2013, lot 3018. Photo Sotheby's

Compare also a Yongle dish of similar pattern, but with delicate lotus scrolls instead of waves around the barbed rim, sold in our London rooms, 14th March 1972, lot 132, in these rooms, 29th November 1976, lot 463, and again 8th April 2009, lot 1670, and exhibited in Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1989, cat. no. 35.

A rare barbed 'floral scroll' blue and white dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425)

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A rare barbed 'floral scroll'blue and white dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Sold 3,140,000 HKD at Sotheby's, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2009, lot 1670. Photo Sotheby's

The close interaction between China and the Middle East as reflected in blue and white porcelain of the early Ming dynasty is discussed in the exhibition catalogue Ming: 50 Years that Changed China, the British Museum, London, 2014, pp. 86-95.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM
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